


THE ART GALLERY

by Cosmic_Grooves



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Classical Art, One-Shot, The Fairy Fellers Master-stroke painting, possible trigger warning - anxiety is mentioned briefly, pre-fame, rated teen and up owing to roger swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27868958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Grooves/pseuds/Cosmic_Grooves
Summary: "Daaaarlings!" Freddie announced one day, "We simply must go the art gallery."~Freddie, Brian and Deacy drag a whiney Roger to the Art Gallery. While there, the guys see a very inspiring painting…
Kudos: 5





	THE ART GALLERY

"Daaaarlings!" Freddie announced one day, "We simply must go the art gallery."  
Freddie Mercury was the charming, dark-haired lead singer, and one of the songwriters for the (then) little known college glam/Rock/metal band Queen. Freddie was a perplexing, intriguing man. Introverted with his friends but massively extroverted on stage. He also was the most dramatic and flamboyant guy that Brian, Deacy or Roger knew.  
From beneath a head poodle-like curls, Brian smiled at Freddie.  
"That sounds lovely, Fred," Brian replied softly, genuinely enamoured by the idea.  
Brian May was one of the bands founders and he played lead guitar, on an instrument he lovingly called the 'Old Lady’ Brian was a deep, sensitive guy, who's main passions apart from music were the mysterious of the cosmos and photography.  
Deacy nodded and said simply, "Could be good."  
'Deacy' (short for John Richard Deacon born 19th of August 1951) was Queens newest member, and he played bass for the band. Deacy was a very laconic, quiet man and, if Brian was honest, sometimes scary… but Freddie seemed to adore Deacy like a younger brother, so Brian guessed Deacy was okay.  
Roger groaned; "The Art Gallery? You're joking."  
Roger Meddows Taylor was Queens drummer and had originally started the band alongside Brian. Roger was quite simply (almost hilariously) too pretty to be a guy. He also immediately and intensely disliked anything he deemed to be '…not rock’n’roll enough…'. Apart from Freddie, Roger was the next biggest drama queen in Queen.  
Freddie pouted.  
Deacy rolled his eyes.  
"Come on Roger, the art gallery is an epicentre of culture, a place of creative intellect, and a hub of history. It’s a really crucial location and collection in society. It would be good to come. You might even learn something," Brian retorted calmly, in a knowing, intelligent voice.  
Freddie hummed his appreciation at Brian. Roger meanwhile groaned and complained that the last thing he wanted to do on their day off was go and learn something. The other members of Queen ignored Rogers whining, as got they put their coats and readied to leave.  
Halfway out the door, Freddie, Brian and Deacy called out for Roger who sitting like a resentful kitten.  
Roger huffed grumpily and conceded; “Fine! I’ll come! But only ‘cause I don’t wanna spend my day off alone.”

{•《☆》•}

Soon the members of Queen (t=with the whinging Roger in tow) found themselves at the Art Gallery.  
On the steps leading to the front entrance Freddie stood ostentatiously, his arms spread out and his chin held high. He turned to his three bandmates.  
"Lo and behold - the Art Gallery, darlings!" sung Freddie gesturing to the large old-fashioned building before them.  
From the outside, the Art Gallery was a beautiful stone building, with Grecian-style pillars surrounding its perimeter. Within its large walls, was a series of brightly lit corridors, lined with fabulous oil paintings. The space within was almost cavernous and Brian felt a slight sense of awe – the art gallery’s voluminous interior alongside it’s the historical oil paintings reminded Brian of the expansive size and impressive age of the universe.  
As Queen wandered through the gallery, their boots (or, in Brian's case, clogs) clambered with an awkward and almost comical loudness against the marble floor. The sound echoed through the vast, silent corridors.  
On this day, there were few other patrons to the gallery, and Queen stood out considerably.  
They stood out for two main reasons;

1\. Firstly, Rogers loud and rather impolite complaints of having been dragged to "...the dullest place to be on a Sunday, apart from church...". Deacy corrected Roger, explaining that it wasn’t actually Sunday it was really Tuesday. As Roger continued whining, Brian, Deacy and Freddie just rolled their eyes at their bored, long haired blond friend. Some of Rogers other comments gifted them unapproving looks from strangers in the art gallery, which made Brain feel very uncomfortable and self-conscious. The rest of the band noticed Brians’ discomfort and tried to keep him distracted from his feelings of anxiety. 

2\. The second reason that Queen stood out was their appearance. They were four young guys (Deacy, the youngest, 20; Roger, 22 ; Brian, 24; with Freddie being the oldest, 25), with "girlishly" long hair, nail polish and a small amount of eye shadow. The had an arguably outlandish fashion sense, especially for an art gallery. Queen - as their name suggested - had a very glam, flamboyant and almost regal look (though they looked this way, in reality, they really were quite the opposite, being dirt poor, wannbe rockstars, struggling to find paying gigs…). 

Being an art major, Freddie knew something about many of the artworks, and, while gesturing animatedly, could appraise them, much to the interest of Brian and Deacy.  
"...for instance - " explained Freddie, " - look at the marvellous chiaroscuro effect on this painting. How the illuminated figures contrast dramatically with the dark background. It's a characteristically renaissance painting effect, y’know, dating back to the 1500s, maybe even 1400s I think!"  
Deacy nodded politely, silently absorbed by the painted masterworks around him.  
Brian lapped up all the knowledge Freddie was imbuing onto him. Brian was a lifelong, lover of learning, but he had had little opportunity to learn about the arts, being a physics major. Brian found the works in the art gallery fascinating and found himself astonished at the brushwork and painstakingly precise details in some of the paintings, which Freddie eagerly pointed out.  
Freddie was really in his element surrounded by the artworks in the gallery. Brian, Deacy and Roger saw a wide, toothy grin spread across Freddie’s face, and a gentle twinkle of excitement in his big, brown eyes as they fell across artwork after artwork. Off-stage, Freddie was normally very humble, extremely polite and courtesously spoken - shy even. It was only on-stage or surrounded by good art that they would see Freddie so excitable, so full of inspiration, brimming with artistic energy and pleasure, Obviously, the others were awed by his massive and flamboyant stage presence where Freddie could woo both male and female members of the audience. But seeing Freddie so excitedly telling them about the paintings on the art gallery's walls, warmed Brian, Deacy and Rogers hearts immensely.

{•《☆》•}

After hours of wandering past and admiring masterpiece after masterpiece, Queen came to one artwork that would capture their imaginations.  
Before the painting, Freddie froze, his dark brown eyes becoming wide.  
"This. Is. Beautiful." he uttered, completely awestruck.  
Freddie breathlessly rambled, "This is exquisite. It's simply perfect. O, the detail! The brushwork. O my. She's a wonder and a truly pretty thing, o my, o my!"  
Brian bent to look at the card beside the painting. It read:

Title: The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke  
Artist: Richard Dadd  
Year/s: 1855-64  
Media: oil on canvas

Brian and Deacy were impressed by the work, and even Roger paused his relentless whining. But the astonishment felt by Brian, Deacy and Roger was by no means comparable to Freddie's. It appeared to them that Freddie glowed with awe before this painting.  
The members of Queen were captured by the characters painted by Dadd across the canvas and the whimsical, fantasy story being played out in oils.  
"Look that fairy bloke playing with that bird," chuckled Brian looking at the Fairy Dandy character 'tickling the fancy' of his Lady Friend.  
"Hmm, she doesn't seem to be enjoying it much, does she?" added Deacy an incredulous smile on his face.  
The members of Queen stood by that particular painting for almost half an hour, awing over it. They came to it not once but twice before they eventually left the art gallery. 

{•《☆》•}

"Thank God! We're finally fucking finished," cheered Roger as they descended the steps, exiting the art gallery.  
Brian sighed, growing weary to Rogers relentless whining, "Hey now Rog, you didn't hate most of it... What about that Master-Stroke painting? That was -"  
"That one was .... okay. But the rest of the art was bloody boring. There weren't even many topless nymphs in the paintings or whatever. What. A. Bore." Roger whined like a teenager.  
Deacy laughed. Brian rolled his eyes - he knew, deep down, Roger had liked The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke painting just as much as the rest of them. But Brian also knew getting Roger to admit he liked something 'uncool' was like drawing blood from a stone – a near to impossible task.  
As they walked home, Freddie quietly sang to himself; "...fairy dandy tickling the fancy of his Lady friend...The nymph in yellow...What a quarie fellow..."  
"Whatcha singing, Freddie?" Deacy asked.  
Freddie blushed, "O, it's nothing really. Just a little something I'm thinking up..."  
Deacy nodded, gazing at Freddie to continue.  
"I just felt inspired by that particular painting in the gallery - The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke - you see. I feel myself thinking up lyrics for a song about it. A song about a painting. I must be mad!"  
"You are mad, Fred," grinned Brian, " but that's why we love you."  
The four of them walked in comfortable silence for a few moments.  
"Thank you…" said Freddie quietly, out of the blue.  
"What for?" asked Deacy.  
"For humouring my whim to go to the Art Gallery." Freddie looked around and smiled humbly at his bandmates.  
"That's fine, anytime, Fred," Brian smiled sweetly, his voice soft.  
"I didn't humour you, Fred,” corrected Roger.  
Deacy rolled his eyes.  
“You made these two drag me!" joked Roger.  
Freddie laughed, "O, Roger, dear..."  
Queen continued to walk together quietly, content with one another's company.  
"How do you even spell "nymph", anyway?" Roger interjected.  
"With letters. Possibly even an 'N'," replied Deacy sarcastically.  
"N-Y-M-P-H" responded Brian matter-of-factly.  
"Do you want me to write it on crayon for you Roger?" Deacy smirked.  
Roger looked half-offended by Deacy’s sarcasm. Brian and Freddie laughed loudly.  
And so, Queens' trip to the art gallery ended...

**Author's Note:**

> The painting 'The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke' by Richard Dadd was one that Freddie really liked in real life. It inspired the song of the same name on Queen's 1974 album Queen II.


End file.
